Mute



Mar. 13, 1923. 1,448,232 A. NAVACH MUTE Filed July 19, 1921 Patented Mar. 13, 1923.

ICE.

ANDREA NAVACH, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

MUTE.

Application filed July 19,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREA NAvAoH, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco nd State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Mutes, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to that class of devices known as mutes and which are adapted to be placed within the horns of musical instruments so as to soften and moderate the sound and tones of instruments.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a mute of the character described which is simple and inexpensive and of such construction that when placed in the mouth of a horn, it will lie flush with the end of the horn, and not project outwardly therefrom as is the case with the ordinary style of mute whereby the horn may be placed within the casing therefor without necessitating removal of the mute.

Another object is to provide a mute of the character described which is of novel structure and arrangement so as to provide gripping portions to facilitate the grasping of the mute in order to position or remove the same.

The invention possesses other advantages and features some of which, with the foregoing will be set forth at length in the following description where I shall outline in full that form of the invention which I have selected for illustration in the drawings accoi'npanying and forming a part of the present specification. In said drawings I have shown one form of the construction of my invention, but it is to he understood that I do not limit myself to such form since the invention as expressed in the claims may be embodied in a plurality of forms.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. l is a fragmentary vertical section of the bell. of a horn sl'iowiug a mute in side elevation and in position.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the mute enlarged.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view.

Referring to the embodiment of the in vention as shown in the drawings, 1 designa'tes the body portion of the mute, which portion is hollow and funnel shaped and provided near its smaller end with a plurality of gripping portions 2 adapted to frictionally engage the horn so as to hold 1921. Serial No. 485,857.

the mute in place. Mounted upon the outer flared end of the portion 1 is a head or cap 2 of circular form, shaped so as to form a circular boss 3 centrally, and an annular head 4 at its periphery. Between the bead and boss 3 is an annular depression or concavity 5. The bent back portion 6 provided at the bead 4 is overlapped as at 7 upon an angularly bent portion 8 at the outer end of the body 1, so as to secure the cap and body together. Preferably the body and cap are made of light, thin metal, such as aluminum may be used if desired and the mute may be formed of one piece instead of two. The shape of the mute is such that it will practically close the bell of the horn leaving only a small annular space between the mute and the horn.

hen it is desired to fit the mute in place the operator grasps the mute so that the thumb will engage in the depression 5 against one side of the boss 3 and one of the fingers will rest upon the bead l. In this way a secure grip may be had and the mute readily inserted in place, likewise in remov- '0 ing the mute the same grip is effected.

When

jection which will interfere with the fitting of the horn in the case thereof, thus permitting the mute to be carried in the horn when the horn is packed in its casing or case. If desired the circular boss 3 alone, which as shown is countersunk, may be grasped, as it offers a comparatively large gripping area.

I claim:

1. A mute of the character described comprising a body portion closed at its outer end, a bead serving as at the outer end of the mute and a boss on the closed end serving as an addition gripping portion, said boss being substantially flush at its outer end with the outer edge of said head.

2. A mute comprising a body portion, a head on the periphery of said body at its outer end scrvin as a gripping portion and a boss provided in the central portion of the outer end of said body with its outer edge substantially'flush with the outer edge of the bead.

a grapping portion ANDREA NAVACH. 

